Partnership Disputes – it will never happen to us…will it?

Unfortunately, partnership disputes can and do arise. And when they do, they can be time-consuming, costly, stressful, emotional and destabilising for a practice and the individual partners.

How do you avoid them?

If you don’t have a partnership agreement you are relying on an Act from 1890 which just sets out some basics. The lack of clarity about the rights and obligations of partners may result in disputes which you could have avoided by agreeing, and recording, the partners’ entitlements and duties. Even if the partnership deed doesn’t address the issue you have, it should have a clear dispute resolution mechanism for dealing with issues when they arise.

The more common causes which cross our desk are disputes resulting from:

• Financial pressures, with one partner taking more than the other partners think he or she deserves.
• Illness, a partner being persistently off sick or being off for a long term condition.
• Partners “not pulling their weight”, and how to go about bringing them to account.
• Strategic change within the partnership – such as expanding, or merging, or taking on additional services as a practice. The appetite for change may be linked to the point each partner is at in their career.

How can we help?

We are experts in partnership law and dispute resolution. We prepare partnership agreements and if disputes do arise, we will assist you to identify the key issues and the best approach to resolve the dispute as quickly and painlessly as possible in the circumstances.

To find out more, please contact our specialist team and request our full flyer on disputes.

Contact our GP advice line

Dial 020 7839 0278 and ask for the GP Advice Line.

Our team of experts can offer GPs and members of their teams up to ten minutes’ free preliminary advice with a solicitor.